A Show of Support
by elisheva
Summary: When Lisbon gets some devastating news Jane is there to help out. Contains slight reference to an adult theme.


**A/N: It's been a while but not from lack of ideas- from lack of time. Not my characters. Also, I forgot the name of the last brother. Forgive me. Enjoy!**

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><p>It was late. Most people had left the floor to recover the rest of their night. Lisbon and I were all that was left of our particular team. Because I took it upon myself to pester whomever, I had chosen to lay on my couch in Lisbon's office, facing her, watching as she shifted through piles and piles of paperwork.<p>

"You're the cause of most of this paperwork, Jane," she growled at one point.

My wiseass comment caused me to have to duck her stapler so I decided being closed-mouthed might save me a concussion and stayed quiet for a moment, only humming nonsensical notes occasionally.

I had just about decided it was time to stop for dinner- Lisbon was way too skinny and such a workaholic she tended to work though meals- when her cell phone rang. I watched through my eyelashes as she rolled her eyes and looked at me to see if I was the interrupter.

Confident I was asleep, she sighed and answered her phone in a bored tone. "Lisbon."

I listened to the one side of the conversation in half-boredom myself.

"It's not my birthday. What are you doing calling?" A pause. "I'm finishing paperwork at work. Of course I am sitting down. Why?" Then sharply. "What's wrong?"

My eyes opened then in interest just in time to see Lisbon's face turn paper white.

"I'll be there. " She hung up her phone and just stared.

"Lisbon?" I asked, softly.

When she looked at me, her eyes bleak, I could hear her scream my name even as her mouth could make no sound.

I crossed the room and leaned over her, taking her pale face in my hands. "Teresa," her name slipped out, she having succeeded in scaring me. "What's wrong? What happened?"

She half stood, taking my vest between her clenched fists. "Jane," she said in a soft voice, "Tommy's dead." Then I watched the unbreakable Teresa Lisbon break before my eyes. Her face collapsed and I had to catch her as her legs refused to support her any longer. I pulled her tightly against me as she began to sob.

Tommy. Her youngest brother. One of the three she had to raise since he was small, basically his mother. Separated by miles, work, and personal reasons, they had not seen each other in years.

Lisbon clung to me as her tears soaked through my shirt. She would soon have problems breathing if she kept up her hysterical crying but I didn't try to stop her.

I didn't offer platitudes.

I didn't tell her, "It will be ok," because it wouldn't be.

I didn't tell her, "It will get better," because it doesn't.

I certainly didn't tell her not to cry because crying was probably the only comfort she would have for a while.

I wasn't going to lie.

Instead, I ran my hand up and down her back and laid my cheek on the top of her head and told her, "It's ok to cry, Lisbon. It's ok to hit, scream, kick. I know it hurts but I'm here for you. I know how you feel." And I did.

Finally, out of sheer emotional exhaustion her tears slowed some and she began to untangle her hands from my wet vest. She took a ragged breath as she looked at me with red, swollen eyes. "This is horrible."

I kept one hand on her back to steady her as I used the other to brush her tearstained cheek. "I know."

"I have to go to Chicago tomorrow."

"I'll take care of it," I said without thinking, but knew it was true.

She smiled softly. "I'd be a mess without you right now. How did you manage by yourself?"

I smirked. "If you'll recall I didn't quite manage at all," I said, alluding to my institution visit.

She sighed and leaned into me again. "I want to go home."

"Ok."

She didn't object to me driving and I didn't object when she took her liquor out and took two shots before heading for bed. Once I made sure she was asleep, I opened her laptop while sitting on the bed beside her and began looking for airline tickets.

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><p>We were greeted at the airport by Lisbon's remaining brothers, James and Scotty. I was introduced as a good friend to which brothers looked slightly suspicious about but they clearly had deeper things to worry about. I was sure my hand on Lisbon's back was seen as a possessive boyfriend-like gesture but since my hand gave Lisbon a small bit of comfort I refused to change my position.<p>

The ride to James' house was awkward. Although Lisbon never discussed much about her family, the tension in the car was palpable. I sensed at some point there was a break- as if the abuse and sorrow of their childhood would disappear if the siblings never communicated.

James had arranged for Lisbon to sleep in his daughter's room, not realizing his strong sister would actually need support- his words exactly. I assured him that as an insomniac I was perfectly happy on a small stretch on the floor.

The wake consisted of just the family but while I was able to charm the wives and distract the children with simple magic tricks the brothers never warmed up.

I followed Lisbon into the bathroom as she wiped the makeup off her face. "Your brothers don't like me."

She lifted an eyebrow at me. She hadn't cried today but her green eyes looked tired and sad. "Regardless, of what you think, Jane, you cannot charm everyone."

I frowned as I leaned against the door frame. "Nevertheless, I resent their line of thinking. I would never hurt you. I'm not _him_."

We both knew who I was talking about and I saw Lisbon flinch slightly but she reached out to touch my shoulder. "My brothers are lost right now."

I shifted towards her. "And what about their big sister? Does she feel lost too?"

The expression on her face was answer enough but when I moved to comfort her into an embrace she put her hands on my chest to stop me. "Don't," was all she said but I knew what she was actually saying.

'If I accept any comfort, I will break.'

I backed away and went back into the bedroom to make a pallet of a quilt and a pillow, placing it near the bed on the opposite side of the bathroom. I wasn't in the mood for any rib kicking that evening. I settled myself on the floor, after discarding my vest and untucking my shirt, then placing my hands behind my head. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of Lisbon's toiletry. I didn't move as she turned out the light and got into bed.

Then I waited.

It took 30 minutes in my estimation for her to settle into bed.

Trying to stay quiet it started as a soft sniffling, Then a muffled sound through the pillow as she tried to conceal her anguish. The sounds I heard broke my heart. "Lisbon?"

T expected a rebuff. Instead, in a tear-stained voice, she said, "Why, Jane? Why did this happen?"

Although I had known he had died I had absolutely no idea of _how_. Therefore, I had no answer to give but a placating one. "It's not for us to know why, Lisbon."

I heard her sob and I sat up, wondering if I should go to her when she said in a strained voice, "But, Jane, all those years he could have come to me. To any of us. All those years he must have suffered."

Ah. Tragic.

"Why didn't he just ask us?"

I shifted so that I was next to the bed, but didn't reach out to touch her. Yet. "No one knows another's mind, Teresa."

"But he was my baby. Even when the family was whole."

I reached up and squeezed her cold hand. "You didn't fail him."

"Then why do I feel like I did?"

"Human nature."

She sniffed for a moment. "Jane, it hurts."

I sat up and placed my back against the nightstand. "I know, Lisbon," I said, quietly.

"Is it true what they say? That time heals all wounds?"

Once again, I refused to offer her false platitudes. "No, my dear. I believe John Lennon was more right when he said time wounds all heals."

She squeezed my hand then lay silent for a while. Her breath evened more but I knew she was still awake. Finally, she sighed and confessed, "I don't think I can sleep. My mind won't let me."

"Luckily, you are sleeping with the master of distraction," I said, cheerfully as I rubbed her knuckles with my thumb.

She snorted and in the moonlight piercing the room I could see her pale face peer over the edge of the bed at me.

Knowing she could see me as well, I grinned at her. "Did I ever tell you about the time I lost a bet and had to kiss the bearded lady?"

She laughed in surprise at that statement.

"No, seriously," I added.

With laughter in her voice, Lisbon told me, "I didn't think _anyone_ won against you, Patrick Jane."

"Oh, that's now. Skills like mine can't be purely born with, Lisbon."

"So, you weren't born with skills, Jane?" she teased.

"My whole childhood consisted of perfected those skills," I informed her honestly. "As a teen I was trained, tested, then retested until I learned it all."

She smiled softly down at me. "So, tell me- what was it like to kiss a woman with a bread?"

"Scratchy."

As she gave herself up to hilarity of that particular situation I found myself thinking of other stories to enlighten her with- anything to keep her laughing.

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><p>The next day at the funeral Lisbon was dry-eyed, although she did lace her fingers tightly in mine. Tommy was buried in the family plot, the beautiful day seeming obscene for such a macabre occasion. Lisbon's ever present cross reflected the sun, catching my attention from time to time.<p>

As we were about to walk to our airport gate I sincerely assured Lisbon's surviving brothers I would watch out for her if she would let me. Their trust issues vanished some as they acknowledged Tess wouldn't make that as easy task.

"You ok?" I asked her after we sat down in our seats on the plane.

She looked at me and, although her eyes were sad, they also had a glint to them. "No," she answered. "We gave him everything we had but it wasn't enough."

I started to interrupt but she kept talking.

"But, you know what, Jane? Unlike 99% of the cases we see there is absolutely no one to blame here. Not James, not Scotty, not Tommy, not even me." She took a breath. "So, am I ok? Not right now. _But_, I will be. If I can keep myself focused, I will be."

I smiled at her and, on a whim, kissed her cheek. "Just remember those times, Lisbon- the good or even the bad, and you will find some kind of peace in the turmoil."

"Is that what you do?"

"I try, Teresa. Every day I try."


End file.
